Merchandise display rack



July 29, 1952 o. PEARsoN 2,604,997

MERCHANDISE DISPLAY RACK Filed March 18, 1949 full.' 6

,IIVVIFJNTORn @SCAR @EARSQN Patented July 29, 1952 ioisisii (o1. 2nite) Il'his invention relates to merchandise display y racks. Y

In the displaying of certain types of merchandise forsale,` particularly suchV articles as paint brushes as in hardware stores.' llumber yards and the like, itV isdesirable that a display rack be provided on which a numberof articles such as brushes can be displayed andv it vis also desirable that the rack be so constructe'dthat thebr'ushes or other articles cannot bev readilyA removed surreptitiously. Considerable loss by pilfering of paintbrushes is experienced' by hardware stores and. lumber yards when the brushes are Y'Irierely placed out in the open and vin detached condition where they may be handledby the customers.

It is the object of this invention, therefore; to provide a. simple and inexpensive but edective rack which can be employed for displayingysuch articles as brushes to permit the examination of the brushes by the customer, the rack being so constructed, however, that it is difficult for the customer to surreptitiously remove a brush from the rack without detection.

More specifically, it is the object of the invention to provide a paint brush display rack in. cluding a support, a carrier slidably mounted on the support for extension therefrom and a rod and cooperating hook mounted on the support, the rod being so located that it can be readily threaded into openings provided in the brushes and thereafter engaged with the hook, the hook being at the rear of the carrier so that it is not readily convenient to permit surreptitious disengagement of the rod from the hook for the removal of a brush.

The objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters refer y to the same or similar parts throughout the different views, and in which Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation showing a brush carrying rack embodying the invention mounted on a display casing, the casing being shown in vertical section and the carrier of the rack bemg partially extended;

Fig. 2 is a similar view in larger scale but showing the rack in vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation of the rack;

and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectlon taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrows.

There is shown an open faced display casing which includes a horizontal top panel 5, a vertical back panel 6, a horizontal bottom panel 1, and

vertical side panels,v one of which` is, illustrated, designated/byl the numeral 8".v This displayfcasing may consist of ordinary shelving if-V desired:

The'rack of the invention-includes a guide9 havinga horizontalfweb =and two spacedffside flanges which convergedownwardly to leave be`` tween them an opening orv slot IUSA carrier II is provided having a lowerhorizo'ntalweband two upwardly extending side-'flanges which are spaced vfrom each other -indiverging relation. The carrier Il is adaptedtofslida'bly fit within theguide 9 with the divergingf'side flanges of the carrier workingy against 'the converging' side.

anges of the guide. Secured totheiforward portion of the 'carrier II isarod 'I 2 formed of ia Y material having some resiliencyand thisy rod: first projects downwardly 'a vshort distancel fromfthe forward portion of rthe carrier Il andthen it projects in a horizontal direction rearwardly. Secured to the rear portion of the carrier II is a downwardly extending hook I3 with which the extreme rear portion of the rod I2 is adapted to be engaged under spring tension.

The horizontal Web of the guide 9 may be attached as to the top panel 5 of the display casing by a single screw I4 located at the rear portion of the guide and by a channel shaped cross strap I5 which embraces the guide below the carrier Il and which has side wings which may be secured as by screws I6 which may be attached to I the top panel 5 adjacent the forward portion thereof. This strap is accordingly located between the hook I3 and the downwardly extending forward portion of the rod I2 and thus the strap acts as a stop in cooperation with the hook I3 to limit the forward extension of the carrier II from the guide 9.

In using the device as for displaying paint brushes, the various paint brushes A toI be displayed are provided with small openings Il in their handles. To mount a number of the brushes A on the rack, the carrier II is rst extended forwardly and the rear portion of the rod I2 is then" disengaged from the hook I3 whereupon a number of the brushes A are threaded on to the horizontal portion of the rod I2, the rod passing through the various openings I1 in the brush handles. The rear portion of the rod is'then re-engaged with the hook I3, whereupon the carrier l may be slid inwardly within the confines of the display casing. A large number of brushes may, of course, be mounted on a single display rack of the invention.

When a prospective customer desires to eX- amine the different brushes on the rack, the

carrier H may be extended forwardly to allow him to handle the brushes, but it is not readily convenient for him to surreptitiously disengage the rear portion of the rod I2 from the hook I3 and remove one of the brushes surreptitiously. However, when a brush is sold it is possible for the attendant of the store or lumber yard or other place where the brushes are being displayed to readily disengage the rod l2 from the hook I3 and make delivery of the selected brush to the customer.

While the rack is designed particularly for use in displaying paint brushes, lt will be readily appreciated that it is also capable of use in displaying many other types of articles. It will, of course, be appreciated that a number of the display racks may be mounted alongside each other in the display casing so that a full line of brushes or other articles may be displayed within a confined space.

c It will, of course, be understood that various changesmay be made in the form, details, arrangement, and proportions of the various parts without departure from the scope of the present invention, which, generally stated, consists in the matter shown, and described, and set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In an extensible display rack for retaining arti cles having threadable ,openings therethrough, the combination of ahorizontal supporting surface, an elongated guidemounted on the underside offsaid supporting surfaceand transversely of the supporting surface; a carrier mounted on said guide for limited slidable extension outwardly thereon, a substantially slender one-piece rod connected to the forward portion of said carrier and projecting first downwardly therefrom and then rearwardly at an angle to the down- Wardly extending portion and parallel to the carrier, a hook secured to the rear portion of said carrier depending downwardly therefrom and engaging the other end of said rod, one of said rod and said hook being resilient with respect to the other so that the engagement and disengagement of the two are facilitated, and a .bracket underlying said` support and attached to the guide at a forward position thereon for limiting the forward extension of said hook together with said carrier to a point underlying said support and rearwardly of the forward portion of said guide and of said bracket, whereby the inconvenient orientation of the hook and rod with respect to the front visible portion of the display rack will discourage the pilfering of articles therefrom while maintaining attractive presentation of such articles.

Y OSCAR PEARSON.

REFERENCES CITED The foliowing'references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain July 3, 1924 

